


gold seeping in

by just_peachyy



Category: Gintama
Genre: Blow Jobs, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, housen yamazaki and matsudaira are all mentioned, oh and tsukuyo and otose, so are kamui kagura and shinpachi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-26 00:10:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15651765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_peachyy/pseuds/just_peachyy
Summary: He's been gone for a week.Post-Yoshiwara in flames arc, contains heavy spoilers for the arc!!





	gold seeping in

**Author's Note:**

> Title from skyline to by Frank ocean (and while on the subject, I maintain that blond is one of the best albums ever)
> 
> Yoshiwara in flames DESTROYED me. I just wish they had found a way to squeeze in the shinsengumi somehow...but we can't have everything. Also I'm in love with Tsukuyo (who isn't??) 
> 
> Theres an old wives tale in Korea that says that if you hold hands with someone you'll dream the same dream and we all know that old wives tales are always true and they're basically attached at the hip so,,,

Gintoki's been gone for a good week. Hijikata hears about the mess in Yoshiwara, and just _knows_ that Yorozuya has something to do with it. Every time Yoshiwara comes up in so conversation he tunes it out with a sick feeling in his stomach. He's a nervous wreck because he knows that even Gintoki can't stand up to all of the Hyakka, much less Housen. And he brought his two kids along, according to Otose. Hijikata wants to be there, wants to beat some sense into Gintoki and wants to be fighting beside him, but he knows he's not supposed to go to Yoshiwara. He's supposed to pretend that Yoshiwara doesn't exist. Yoshiwara exists only for those of tremendous influence and wealth. If he goes, he'll risk putting the Shinsengumi on the chopping block. So he grits his teeth and bears it even if it makes him into a snappy, bitchy mess. He has to have faith in Gintoki, but it wanes little by little, each day that he's gone. He's going through so many cigarettes a day he has to send Yamazaki on runs for more multiple times a day. He sleeps more and more at headquarters, stays up more and more nights until one day he receives a call from a very harassed Matsudaira announcing to him that Yoshiwara's king is no more. Hijikata's heart jumps into his throat and he copies down whatever information he gets and announces it to the entire force. He returns to his office later, takes in the mess of it. The unmade futon and the empty food packages all over the floor, the mess of papers on his desk, the overflowing ashtray. Anxiety is thundering in his head. He collapses on his futon and sleeps for half a day before jolting up and getting back to work. 

It's been a couple days since Housen's death. Information about Yoshiwara has been slowly coming in, no doubt controlled by the new king - the heir of the biggest illicit grey area in the entirety of Edo. The new king's name is Kamui of the Yato clan, and Hijikata doesn't make the connection to the Kagura girl until he sees a picture of him. They must be siblings. He suspects that the kid has connections to the Harusame, but he's never been confirmed to be so. And there's no way that Hijikata can get close to him when he's in his fortress. 

Stalemate. He sighs and runs his hands through his hair until it's standing on end, and thinks it over. He leaves a voice mail at Yorozuya, telling him to call him as soon as he can, and places a call to the hospital, hoping, hoping. 

The receptionist relents and tells him that no one named Sakata Gintoki or anyone with permed silver hair under 30 has been admitted in the past two weeks. Or anyone with glasses who shouts a lot, or a redhead with an umbrella. He hangs up, his pulse audible in his skull. That leaves it down to two options, none of which are very appealing. Either Gintoki and his kids are still in Yoshiwara, or very dead. 

He stalks around the city on patrols, one eye on the streets and the other open for silver hair, or a purple umbrella and red hair, or glasses and bright eyes. No luck. There's no trace. 

He's nearly halfway through another pack of cigarettes a couple days later when Yamazaki pokes his head in and tells him that he has a visitor. It's late, the compound is nearly empty, and he walks out wearily, his jacket left in his room and his sleeves rolled up. His shirt is wrinkled, his waistcoat is wrinkled, his cravat is probably crooked. He goes out into the meeting hall and nearly shouts. Its Gintoki, and he's giving him his usual shit-eating smile, heavily bandaged. 

Hijikata walks up to him and hits him on the head. 

"Ow! I'm injured, you mayonnaise freak!" He howls. 

Hijikata snarls and shoves his stupid outstretched hands aside, grabs him by the lapels of his stupid half open shirt. "How could you do something so _stupid_?" He hisses, shaking him. "Do you have any idea how much sleep I've lost worrying, you stupid perm head?"

The look of confused hurt and anger slides off Gintoki's face and is replaced by a gentler one. "You idiot." He says softly. "You should be used to it by now." 

Hijikata is still seething as he unclenches his fingers from the lapels of Gintoki's shirt. "My office." He gets out. He turns on his heel and storms to his room, pulls Gintoki inside and wraps him in a tight hug. 

Gintoki hugs back after a moment, hanging on like a drowning man. 

"You couldn't have hugged me outside?" Gintoki murmurs into his ear. 

Hijikata smiles briefly; it's not that he couldn't because of reputation or shame or whatever. He had been a bit afraid that he might not be able to let go if he had hugged him then and there. 

"You're such an idiot." Hijikata says instead. He backs away and hits Gintoki on the head again. 

"Ow! The doctor says I have a mild concussion, dumbass -" 

"That's for bringing your employees to Yoshiwara. They're kids. For God's sake, Gintoki." Hijikata sits down heavily, feeling as if the weight of the last few days is leaving his shoulders. He is suddenly exhausted.

"I deserved that one." Gintoki sits down next to Hijikata, his eyes soft. 

"Damn right." Hijikata snorts. "They better be alright, or I'm going to kill you for real." 

Gintoki sobers a bit. "They're a bit injured, but they'll be alright." 

"What!" 

"Kagura's got some broken bones but you know her, she heals up like a shot and next thing you know, she's asking for third helpings of rice. And Shinpachi is fine, just bruised. Tae's looking after him." He runs a hand over his face. 

"Good." Hijikata scowls heavily at him. "Next time just call me. Christ." 

"I didn't wanna trouble you. The Shinsengumi and all. Tsukuyo and the old hag told me about it. You guys don't have any jurisdiction there." 

"You fool, I wouldn't have gone as Shinsengumi. I would have gone as Hijikata Toshirou, off duty." 

"Then who would be defending the city?" Gintoki teases. Hijikata sighs. 

"Are you alright?" He asks, breaking the silence and touching Gintoki's hand. 

"Nothing too bad." Gintoki shrugs, and he laces their fingers together and smiles up at him. Weariness is etched into the lines of his body, his posture. 

"You mentioned a concussion..." he reaches up, his hands hovering around his temples. "You...you idiot. Did Housen step on your head or something?"

Gintoki grimaces. "You're not far off. I'm a bit out of practice. But it's alright! The doctor says I'll be good as new in a flash." he adds hastily as he notices the vein twitching in the vice chief's forehead. 

Hijikata scowls, but knocks their foreheads together and keeps them there, nose to nose for a moment. Gintoki nearly goes cross eyed as he tries to meet Hijikata's eyes. He's always entranced by the endless blue of them, a deep, almost navy that he's come to associate entirely with him. 

"Please.... please don't ever do that ever again." Hijikata is saying. "At least tell me where you're going, call me, leave a text, anything. You left me hanging for a couple weeks, you don't know how-" 

Gintoki muffles him with a kiss, effectively shutting him up. Hijikata melts into it, cradling the back of his head and pulling him gently closer, mindful of his injuries. It's like he's had a knot inside of him. All at once, it undoes itself and he slumps into Gintoki's arms, clutching and trying to pull him closer. He feels like he can breathe again. Gintoki drives him crazy, makes him greedy and possessive. He tangles his fingers into Gintoki's hair and pulls a bit, the way he likes, and he moans into Hijikata's mouth. There's a fierce curl of sudden pleasure and want in the pit of his stomach and he pulls Gintoki to the half made futon and presses him into the sheets. 

"Can we?" He asks quietly, brushing his nose along the lines of Gintoki's throat. He stops to suck a light hickey onto his collarbone and licks over it, delighting in Gintoki's subdued shiver. 

He feels rather than sees his nod, and he begins sliding his hands under his white yukata, touching gingerly over the bandages around his chest, his stomach. 

"The doctor said no vigorous activity." Gintoki deadpans. 

"When have you ever listened to authority?" Hijikata jokes back from where he is sucking a bruise into the tender skin of his hip. 

"Idiot. Only when it's you." He ripostes. 

"Wrong, I know for a fact you went out again after getting stabbed by one of those benizakura blades and the doctor told you that you might die -" 

"That was because the world was in danger!"

"Fair, but you should listen to me since I'm a policeman. Doctors too." 

"Why should I listen to tax thieves?" 

"Like you make enough to pay taxes." 

"Mayo freak." 

"Perm head." 

Hijikata bites the jut of his pelvic bone and grins against his skin at the small yelp.

"Don't be too rough, is all I'm saying." Gintoki whispers, reaching down to touch his hand to Hijikata's cheek. 

"I won't." He promises. "Just wanna touch you a bit. Just a little." 

Gintoki's face is amused and skeptical but he helps Hijikata shove his boxers down. Hijikata finally gets his mouth on him, listens to the way he muffles his moans by biting down on the knuckles of his free hand, and he's so sexy and he's missed him for so long. He looks like shit, like he took the worst beating of his life, but Hijikata still wants him. That's crazy, he thinks to himself. He probably shouldn't even be doing this to an injured person.

"Hiji-oh!" 

"That's not my name." Hijikata says, fisting Gintoki's dick. 

Gintoki lets out a moan, bucks up into his grip. "H-Hijikata," he gasps. Hijikata smiles and ducks his head. 

"Good," he hums, pressing his lips to the head of his dick in warning. 

Hijikata sucks as quickly as he can, knowing that Gintoki is impatient in the way he lifts his hips and tugs at his hair. He strokes what he can't fit into his mouth, even tries a bit of teeth gently along the underside of his dick. Gintoki whines and arches, his muscles taut. 

"Hijikata," he's gasping. "I'm - I'm close, im gonna -" he falters and whimpers, finishes in Hijikata's mouth, whining high in his throat. He collapses into the futon after, every muscle in his body turned to putty. He's panting, his face bright red, a sweat broken out on his forehead. His hands are shaking as he reaches for Hijikata, who crawls into the futon beside him after leaving one last bite mark on the tender skin of his inner thigh. 

"Sorry," Gintoki says lowly, wiping the corner of Hijikata's mouth with his thumb. 

"It's alright." He licks Gintoki's thumb playfully, relishes the flutter of his lashes. "And you tease me for being the five second samurai." 

Gintoki goes bright red. "Shut up." He grumbles. "I was - pent up. Bastard." 

Hijikata laughs and gently pinches the bite mark on Gintoki's pelvis. 

"You're never that bitey," Gintoki winces, his voice breathless. 

"You liked it." 

"I mean - well, yeah." He touches the hickey on his collarbone. "What was that about?"

Hijikata noses along his sweaty throat. "You make me crazy," he whispers. 

"Let me," he says, but Hijikata shakes his head and pushes his hand away from the front of his pants. 

"Oh come on, stop being chivalrous or whatever, let me do this for you." Gintoki says. 

"In the morning," Hijikata mumbles. He's half asleep ready, and he pulls Gintoki close to the point where he protests weakly. He buries his nose into Gintoki's hair and falls asleep immediately for the first time in weeks. 

** 

Gintoki stirs sometime in the night because of the distinct lack of Hijikata at his side. 

He sits up and spots him sitting at the sliding doors leading out to the engawa, his unbuttoned shirt draped over his shoulders like a too-thin blanket, framing his chest. Gintoki takes a moment to just watch him, oddly serene. The lines of his chest, his hands lying in his lap, the cigarette smoking gently in its ashtray near his knee. 

"Oy. You're going to catch your death like that." Gintoki says quietly, as not to startle him. 

"Its not too cold," Hijikata assures. 

Gintoki rolls his eyes and looks pointedly at his arm, where goosebumps have broken out. "Come here, you big idiot." 

Hijikata smiles all small and almost bashful, and he moves towards him and gently tackles him into the sheets, mindful of his bandages. 

"I'm the big idiot?" He murmurs, touching the band aid on his forehead lightly. "You get stabbed on your forehead or something?"

Gintoki goes red. "They're good at aiming!"

"Or maybe you're bad at blocking." He laughs. 

Gintoki grumbles but lets it go, falling silent against his chest. Then, he asks in a small voice if he's ever been to Yoshiwara. 

"No. And I don't particularly want to." Hijikata says honestly. There's nothing for him in there. The only thing that would make him truly happy in Yoshiwara would be to make it into an area in which their laws would apply, free all the women, kill the king, burn Yoshiwara to the ground. He strokes a hand over Gintoki's hair. "Why? What's it like?"

Gintoki rolls over to lie flat on his back, his head pillowed on the vice chief's arm. "Sad," he says simply. "I don't want to go back there again." He closes his eyes. 

"You need painkillers?" 

"Nah. Come here." He opens his arms and Hijikata lies down in them, feeling serene. It's still before dawn, and the sun has yet to rise. 

They drift in and out of sleep together, and Hijikata dreams of leaden skies and a beautiful kimono woven with heavy red, orange, and gold threads like the sun.

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! I'm @drunkmaenad on tumblr!! come yell with me about gintama together!!


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